Jeremy Clarkson, 62, responded to one Stephen Fry critic after the comedian was accused of making a “misogynistic” joke. Earlier this month, one person at a dinner at Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) reportedly called for disciplinary action to be taken against club president Stephen after he made comments described as “egregious”.
Following the controversy, Jeremy reacted to the accusation, saying it was “tragic” how nowadays allegations can be “immediately accepted as fact”.
The former Top Gear star poked fun at cricket enthusiasts as he quipped the “boredom gets them”.
He wrote in his latest column for the Sun: “Perhaps the man in question assumed that everyone else in the room was dead.
“Most cricket fans are. It’s the boredom that gets them.
“But annoyingly from his point of view, some were not only alive, but awake as well.”
Jeremy went on: “And they came forward to say that Stephen hadn’t been offensive at all.
“It’s tragic, isn’t it, that we live in a time when one person can claim something and that it’s immediately accepted as fact?”
The complaint against Stephen was made by Chris Waterman, 75, who has been a member of MCC for 25 years.
He claimed Stephen stood up to welcome those to the dinner, saying: “I had intended to say ‘Good evening, ladies and gentlemen’ but there are no lady members present. I suppose they are off sh**ging’.”
Then, as reported by The Times, the actor referred to the Allahakbarries, an amateur cricket team founded by author JM Barrie which was active in the late 1800s.
The club and some others who were present at the dinner have since disputed the claims.
Guy Lavender, chief executive and secretary of MCC, told the aforementioned publication the claims are “factually incorrect”.
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He said: “The dinner in question was enjoyed by those that attended and we have not received any other complaint from attendees in this regard.”
However, on Saturday, Mr Lavender acknowledged the complaint had been received, MailOnline reports.
Other diners claimed what Mr Fry actually said was: “I had intended to say ‘Good evening, ladies and gentlemen but there are no lady members present. Now we can talk about sh**ging’.”
The attendees add the Blackadder star was intending to mock the “under-representation of women” at the dinner.
On Saturday, Mr Waterman told The Mail on Sunday: “The MCC is male, pale, frail and stale. I have been trying to reform it for eight years.”
His complaint, as reported by the publication, stated: “After the meal, the president called all the serving staff back into the room to thank them.
“I interrupted and asked him if he would apologise for his earlier comments about women, and he said, ‘No, I was referring to women members’ and continued speaking.”
Express.co.uk has previously contacted Stephen Fry’s representatives for comment.
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